New Delhi
6 December 2009
India can be expected to raise the issue of the North-East insurgent groups when
Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna travels to Burma this week. Mr Krishna's three-
day visit from December 10 to the Burmese capital, Nay Pyi Taw, will take place after the
recent apprehension of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) Chairman Arabinda
Rajkhowa, some of whose cadres are believed to be hiding in the areas bordering Burma
and China.
Although Mr Krishna will visit Burma ostensibly for the Bimstec (Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multi Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation) ministerial conference, New
Delhi did not rule out the possibility of the minister taking the opportunity of being among
his counterparts from the neighbouring countries to articulate New Delhi's concerns
about the safe havens of Indian insurgent groups in their countries and to seek their
cooperation in the fight against separatism.
The Bimstec comprises India, Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and
Thailand.
Besides trade and connectivity, Mr Krishna will seek to review counter-terrorism
cooperation with the Bimstec countries, many of whom share borders with India, China or
both. Groups such as the ULFA are known to have used Bangladesh, Burma and China
for their activities. Therefore, the strengthening of information-sharing and cooperation
among the law enforcement agencies of the Bimstec members for combating
transnational crime is also likely to figure in his talks.
The Indian Cabinet has approved the signing and ratification of the Bimstec Convention
on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organised Crime
and Illicit Drug Trafficking. The Convention was adopted in October 2008 at New Delhi by
the Bimstec Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism. "It is proposed to sign the
Convention at the first opportunity[,]" Mr Krishna's deputy and Union Minister of State of
External Affairs Shashi Tharoor recently said in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
Last week, India put some of her neighbours, including China, on notice that it expects
them to behave responsibly against anti-India elements and to desist from extending
political, military or materiel rpt materiel support to the North-East insurgents. Foreign
Secretary Nirupama Rao fired the first salvo over the weekend, when she said that New
Delhi expects "all neighbours" to behave responsibly on this issue. She was responding
to a question about ULFA's self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah's links with
China.
An immediate provocation for Ms Rao's tough talk against China is the Chinese arms
and training given to ULFA's cadres. Indian agencies believe that China is helping
ULFA's cadres not only on Chinese territory but also in Burma. Other insurgent groups in
India's North-East have procured Chinese arms, too.
Baruah is wanted in India for crimes against the Indian state and people, and New Delhi
continues to seek his apprehension. Till recently, he was based in Bangladesh but he is
reported to have relocated to China in early 2009. Today, Baruah and about 50 of his
cadres are believed to be hiding near the China-Burma border and they are trying to set
up bases in China's Yunnan province.
Baruah is the only top ULFA leader who is still absconding. Last week, ULFA Chairman
Arabinda Rajkhowa had led a dramatic surrender before the Indian authorities at Dawki in
Meghalaya. Among those who surrendered were Rajkhowa, his wife Kaveri and two
children; Rajkhowa's deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, his wife and one child;
Rajkhowa's personal security guard Raja Bora; and the wife of ULFA's "foreign
secretary" Sasha Choudhury and their son.
No comments:
Post a Comment